Jay Slater’s family ‘devastated & bewildered’ after 14-day search for missing teen called off by cops
JAY Slater’s family have been stunned at the decision to call the 14-day search off for the missing teen.
Speaking exclusively to The Sun, a family source said Jay’s parents and family are “heartbroken and devastated” by news of the desperate search ending.
Parents Debbie and Warren, as well as brother Zak, are feeling a “sense of bewilderment” that Jay remains missing on Tenerife.
Jay’s crushed family are yet to get answers on what happened to the 19-year-old after he went missing on June 17.
Jay’s dad Warren had previously broken down in tears and told The Sun his life was now a “living hell”.
Warren, 58, said: “I just want him to be found. I just want my son back, end of.”
Cops on the Spanish island have called off the search but pledged to continue to investigate the case if any major tip-offs or information comes in.
Confirmation of the dramatic development came less than 24 hours after a “last push” operation was launched.
Around 30 cops, firefighters and Civil Protection all took to the mountains in Masca – along with a handful of volunteers.
The hunt, which centred around Jay’s last known location, failed to find any trace of the man from Oswaldtwistle in Lancashire.
A Civil Guard spokeswoman said today: “The search operation has now finished although the case remains open.”
A well-placed source added: “The daily operation which has been going on in and around Masca close to where Jay was last seen has been brought to an end.
“If any information comes in that merits a new search though it will be acted upon.
“My understanding is Jay’s parents have been informed of what obviously is a major development.
“Nothing of any relevance was found during yesterday’s large-scale search.”
Dad Warren also pleaded for anyone with information to come forward.
He previously said: “What more is there, it’s been a week now, a week of nothing. So somebody somewhere must’ve found out something. Somebody.
“It is a living hell, unless you’re going through it, you cannot explain.
“I don’t believe he’s still in that mountain. The police have put every effort into finding him. It’s bleak and barren.
“The authorities have done everything they can in the search, everybody is up there looking for him.”
Warren has been putting up missing person posters in the village of Santiago del Teide.
The tearful dad has also been sharing a grainy CCTV image he believes could be his son.
JAY CLUES
The young Brit vanished after a night out at the NRG festival at Papagayo nightclub in Playa de las Americas on June 17.
He was last seen travelling with the two mystery men in the north of the island in the Rural de Teno park.
The morning after he made a final frantic phone call to pal Lucy to tell her he was stranded in the “middle of nowhere”.
It comes as…
- Search for teen hits ‘make or break’ stage
- Jay Slater’s pal sparked more confusion claiming teen met mystery men
- Brother Zak and dad Warren join the search – with Jay’s father hitting back at trolls criticising family
- Brit climber scours Tenerife ravine for clues after pal ‘heard him slip’
- Crews fear he won’t be found alive if he vanished in mountains
- Cops investigate new lead after ‘theft of Rolex’ hours before teen vanished
- Expert says Jay may have fallen into a gorge
- Ghoulish Brits treat his disappearance as a tourist attraction
- The GoFundMe page for his family hits £40,000
- Jay vanishes after a night out
Panicked Jay, facing an 11-hour walk back to their hotel, told her he needed water and only had one per cent of battery left on his phone.
His other friend Brad Hargreaves revealed a second call in which Jay told him he had veered off the main path – leading to speculation he may have slid down rocks.
Brad said he could hear the missing teen slipping on rocks during a final video call.
The disappearance sparked a desperate round-the-clock search with his heartbroken mum and family jetting out to the island to join the hunt.
Rescue crews focused their efforts around the 2,000ft Masca ravine close to Jay’s last known location – the desolate Teno Nature Reserve.
On Thursday, they shifted their focus to caves near Los Carrizales – around an hour and a half on foot from the Airbnb Jay went to with the two men.
Apprentice bricklayer Jay had flown out to Tenerife with friends Lucy and Brad for the New Rave Generation (NRG) festival, which ended on Sunday.
His final Snapchat picture was an out-of-focus image of a hand holding cigarettes in Buenavista del Norte, which sits within Rural de Teno park, at around 7.30am on Monday.
It was taken at the location he went to with the two men he met at the club – with haunting pictures showing the inside of the Airbnb.
It is claimed he was spotted “walking alone” by locals before his disappearance.
Five questions still unanswered in Jay Slater's disappearance
Missing Rolex after ‘scuffle’
Police launched a new probe on Saturday morning over the theft of a Rolex watch just hours before Jay disappeared.
It is unclear exactly how Jay’s disappearance might be linked but one of Jay’s pals told detectives the alleged theft may have led to Jay wandering off on his own to try and find the watch.
The Rolex disappeared when a fight broke out at the club Jay was partying at with investigators questioning taxi drivers and bar staff present on the strip.
Police clear duo
Two mystery Brits who partied with Jay Slater on the night of his disappearance were labelled “not relevant” by investigators.
Investigator Mark Williams-Thomas said the men stayed with Jay at an Airbnb cottage in Tenerife before he vanished.
They are said to both be in their late 30s or early 40s and from Luton, Bedfordshire, with one going by the nickname “Johnny Vegas”.
The men were only briefly asked to speak with cops before being allowed to fly home to the UK.
Just six volunteers for ‘massive’ search
Yesterday, Tenerife cops launched what they called a “massive” new search with the help of specialist volunteers to find the 19-year-old Brit.
However, just six volunteers reportedly turned up, claimed Tiktoker Paul Arnott, 29, who flew in to help with the search.
Jay’s father Warren and older brother Zak were seen at the search site.
The area being searched is a 2000ft ravine that has a steep hiking trail traversing it down to the sea.
Mystery final phone calls
Jay’s last phone call to his pal Lucy Law has been shrouded in mystery with it springing up several questions.
The 18-year-old woman told reporters Jay had called her in a panic at around 8.30am on Monday June 17.
She recalled him saying he wasn’t able to catch a bus and was going to start walking back to his flat.
Jay told her his phone was almost out of power, that he had cut his leg on a prickly cactus and he badly needed a drink.
Pinging phone
Search teams narrowed their efforts to a small group of buildings close to where Jay’s phone last pinged, but found nothing last week.
Jay took a 45 minutes car journey with two men to an Airbnb near Masco in the Rural de Teno, a national park in the island’s north.
He posted a Snapchat picture at the £40-a-night digs at around 7.30am appearing to show him holding a cigarette and walking down some stone steps.
After deciding to leave the cottage, Jay rang Lucy before his mobile went dead at 8.50am near a hiking trail in the park.